Ornamental wall panel and means for securing the same



1F. 31, 1939. RA. WEINLAND 2,145,469

ORNAMENTAL WALL PANEL AND MEANS FOR SECURING THE SAME Filed Aug. 18, 1937 .Za ZerZAWszh valum/mm;

Patented Jan. 31, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Robert A. Weinland, Columbus, Ohio, assignor of one-half to Merle O. Scanland, Columbus,

Ohio

Application August 18, 1937, Serial No. 159,691

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This invention relates generally to wall finishing units and is particularly directed to a sheet metal panel adapted to be attached to the skeleton framework of a building and to the means employed in securing the panels in attached positions.

Hitherto, when sheet metal panels were employed as a facing material for building walls, they were frequently finished at the factory prior to their attachment to the wall frames. Such panels were either polished, painted or enameled and it was constantly a problem to rigidly secure the panels to the frame structure without marring or otherwise destroying: the finish applied thereto. With the present invention, the panels may be attached without the necessity of passing securing elements therethrough.

One of the objects of the present invention resides in the provision of a wall finishing panel and attaching means therefor which will solve the above mentioned problem.

It is also an object of the invention to provide means for attaching wall finishing panels which will not require the latter to be perforated to receive securing elements.

A still further object rests in the provision of attaching means for the type of panel mentioned which may be applied from the rear of the panels and will be completely hidden from exterior view,

It is also an object to provide the panels with rearwardly and inwardly directed flange members to be engaged by a plurality of clamping members, the latter being carried by the framework of the building.

An additional object resides in the provision of panel attaching means which will require no accurate locating or drilling of holes in the framework, thus reducing the cost of construction.

Additional objects will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawing in which the invention has been illustrated in one of its many forms.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a horizontal sectional view through a vertical column of the framework of a building with the adjoining edges of a pair of finish units secured thereto;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the rear face of a finishing panel;

Fig. 3 is a similar view of a clamp member used in securing the panels to the building framework;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail horizontal section through the adjoining edges of a pair of panels and the mechanism employed in securing them to the building framework;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the rear ,face of a slightly modified panel.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral l designates a wall finishing panel formed in accordance with the present invention. This panel has two opposite edges bent rearwardly as at 2 to provide the panel with narrow side walls 3 which in turn terminate in inwardly directed rearwardly spaced flanges 4. The outer or front surface of the panel may be suitably ornamented either by polishing, painting or enameling to suit the particular installation. It will .be readily apparent that the flanges 4 would not necessarily have to extend the full length of the panel as illustrated in Fig. 2 but short flange sections may be provided at spaced intervals. Also if desired, the flanges 4 may be eliminated and rearwardly directed projections 5, as illustrated in Fig. 5, substituted instead. The projections 5 are welded to the panel and terminate in a plane spaced rearwardly from the panel.

The building framework to which the panels are secured includes in the present instance, metallic structural members 6--6 of channel formation. Thesechannel members are arranged back to back and the outer flanges 1 thereof are formed to .include openings .8. To secure the panels in rigid engagement with the frame structure, there is provided a plurality of angular clamping plates .9. The plates 9 each have ,a body portion Ill and an angularly directed wing extension H provided at one end of the body. The outer edge of the wing H terminates in a plane offset to that of the body and is positioned in engagement with the flange l.

The end Illa of the body opposite from that 40 on which the wing is formed is arranged to engage the front face of the flange 4 while the rear face of the flange engages the framework or, as shown, may be spaced therefrom by a resilient pad 12. The body ll] of the plate is formed 45 with a perforation l3 which is aligned with one of the openings 8 in the flange of the channel member 6. A bolt l4 extends through the registering openings and is provided at its inner end with a nut [5. When the nut is tightened on 50 the bolt, the edge of the wing extension on the angle plate will be drawn into firm engagement with the flange of the channel member. Continued rotation of the nut will cause the plate to pivot on the wing extension and end Illa of 55 the plate will have a tendency to force the flange 4 into firm engagement with the frame structure and clamp it in this position.

The space between the proximal edges of adjacent panels may be filled with a plastic composition l6 to seal the wall and prevent the entrance of air or moisture. The plastic filler l6 also provides a slight amount of resiliency to compensate for expansion and contraction of the wall .plates due to temperature changes.

The securing mechanism above described is applied solely from the inner side of the panels and is entirely invisible from the outer side. When the flanges 4 extend the entire length of the panel, any suitable number of clamping plates may be employed and their spacing varied according to the desire of the builder.

While only the preferred form of the invention has been shown and described, it is understood that numerous structural modifications may be provided and I reserve the right to employ all such forms as may be said to fall within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In exterior wall construction for buildings, a structural frame member having a flange, a sheet metal wall-forming panel having an edge thereof turned inwardly and terminated in a laterally disposed seating flange, a compressible strip arranged between the seating flange of the panel and the flange of said frame member, a securing plate having a laterally directed lip at one end thereof, the outer end of the plate engaging with the seating flange and the outer edge of the lip engaging the flange of the frame member, a bolt positioned normal to the surface of the panel and carried by said plate, said bolt passing through an opening formed in the flange of the frame member, and threaded clamping means engaging with the outer end of the bolt and operated from the inside of the wall construction to adjustably draw said plate into frictional clamping engagement with the seating flange of said panel to secure the latter to the frame member.

2. Mechanism for securing sheet metal wallforming panels of the type having rearwardly and inwardly directed marginal flanges to a building framework having a flange comprising a clamp plate having an angularly bent end in engagement with the framework, the opposite end overlying the panel flange, said clamp plate lying between the body of the panel and the framework flange, and means for forcing said clamp toward said framework to apply pressure to said panel.

3. In combination with a building framework having a structural member with a perforated flange, a sheet metal wall-forming panel positioned in front of said structural member, said panel being formed with a rearwardly and inwardly directed flange, an angular clamp plate having an opening in registration with a perforation in the flange of said structural member, the edge of the angular portion of said clamp plate being in engagement with said structural member and the opposite edge of said plate overlying the flange of said panel, said clamp plate lying between the body of the panel and the framework flange, and securing means extending through the registering openings in said clamp plate and flange, said securing means being operative to cause the main body of the wall panel and the framework to approach each other with their faces in parallel position.

4. In combination with a building framework having structural members with perforated flanges, a pair of sheet metal wall-forming panels positioned edge to edge in front of said structural member, each of said panels being formed at the adjoining edges with rearwardly and inwardly directed flanges, a plurality of clamp plates having openings in registration with the perforations in the flanges of said structural member, one end of each of said plates being in engagement with said structural member and the other end of each of said plates overlying the flangesof said panels, and adjustable securing means extending through the registering openings in said clamp plates and said flanges.

5. The structure set forth in claim 4 in which a compressible strip is arranged between the panel flanges and the structural member.

6. In exterior wall construction for buildings, a structural frame member having a flange, a sheet metal wall-forming panel having an edge thereof turned inwardly and terminated in a laterally disposed seating flange, a securing plate having a laterally directed lip at one end thereof, the outer end of the plate engaging with the seating flange and the outer edge of the lip engaging the flange of the frame member, securing means positioned normal to the surface of the panel and carried by said plate and operable to adjustably draw in a direction normal to the flange of the frame and the surface of the panel said plate into frictional clamping engagement with the seating flange of said panel to secure the latter to the frame member.

ROBERT A. WEINLAND. 

